Armored Core: Controller Chronicles
by demonslayer206
Summary: Deep within Layered, the Controller's malfunctioning throws everything in chaos. In the mists of the confusion, a new Raven must rise to the challenge. The story behind Lunar Battle's Cortex Ravens one year earlier.
1. Prologue: Raven's Test

Armored Core: Controller Chronicles

Prologue:

AD (After Destruction) 146

March, 3

Location: Layered, Level 2, sector 102, Yasuke Residence

Sector 102, a silent sector untouched by the wars of the Corporations and, as such, lacking any signs of mecha damages. Young, 18 year old Nick was packing his suitcase for his new job. He is about 5'9" tall with a relatively large appearance, but not exactly fat. His brown hair was short and a mess, but perfectly matched his brown eyes. He smirked about it, knowing exactly what he was going to do. He was going to be a Raven, an elite few that fight in powerful robots called Armored Cores. He wished, anyway. He had recently taken the exams, but had failed horribly in the combat test. He wasn't alone in that test, and his ally was able to save him from certain death, the price any aspiring Raven pays for failure of the test by the targets. He was angry that he failed the test, and had to be bailed out by his own brother just to survive. Although he failed, he was seen as a pilot with some potential in the eyes of Crest. He was now getting ready to become an MT pilot, which is a stepping stone to his ultimate goal in his eyes.

He paused as he sensed someone near the door and looked up. "Hey bro," he said, recognizing who it was leaning on the door frame. Standing about 5'11" tall, he was a lot leaner looking than his younger brother. They both had the same eyes and hair color, but his was longer and messier. He was wearing conventional clothes, namely a pair of blue jeans with a white tee shirt.

He nodded to Nick. "Ready to go?" he asked. Nick's grin said it all as he closed his suitcase, positive he had everything he needed in there. "Come on, then. You can't be late for your first day." He then left the room, heading for his car.

Nick followed him out to the car. It was a '96 Ranger, a relic predating the Great Destruction that the two of them had been able to repair and remodel. Nick threw his case into the truck, noticing that his brother had already put his own in there. Both of them sat down in the vehicle as it was started up, and then drove away from the house. He looked at his brother. "So, guess you're going now too, eh Dan?" he asked. His brother nodded as he watched the road.

"So, what are you going to do?" Dan asked his brother, skillfully driving around a corner. He already knew what Nick's answer.

"It's Crest," he said. "I'm going to be a Muscle Tracer pilot for them for a while, then try to take the test again to become a Raven." Dan couldn't help but smile at that. He was worried about him, since MTs aren't exactly as though as an AC can be. "My friends all decided to become MT pilots as well with Crest. I'm sure they'll let us work together rather than split us up."

"Really," Dan replied, turning down another street and taking the ramp onto the main road. "I'm actually surprised about that." He turned to his brother. "And you're going to make sure that you're not killed in an MT?"

Nick glared at his brother. "I won't make the same mistake as in the Raven test," he said. "At least I can get better at flying one if I fly an MT first. They do say that the OS and cockpits for the two aren't that much different."

Dan nodded. "Just remember that I won't be there to save your ass like in the test," he said. Nick didn't need to be reminded of that. He looked back at his brother, just now noticing the pin of a raven he was given for competing the test. It was a black pin with a gold beak and gold eyes. He remembered why he got that. The examiners claimed that he was amazing with that trainer AC, having taken little more than 20 damage. He still couldn't believe it. Nick himself was doing fine against the MTs that were out there, but then someone dropped additional MTs down. They were a newer model, armed with bazookas and a shell shield on their left arm. They couldn't jump, but they were designed to take on an AC on nearly equal grounds, unlike the biped walkers they were fighting. His trainer AC was wrecked, only the left hand and legs were still working. The right hand was blown off, along with the missiles and radar, the head was barely there, and the cockpit was blasted open by an attack. He would've been dead with the next shot if Dan hadn't taken the hit for him, taking mild core damage as he sliced the enemy in half. Nick was forced to retreat while his brother took on the enemy, but he did finish off one of the AC busters with his laser sword, only because its back was turned to him to try and shoot the other.

"No need to rub it in," Nick replied in an angered tone.

Dan laughed at this. "I wasn't. I was just stating the truth. You're more likely to be my enemy now…" His laugh dissipated before he answered, his face becoming serious as he said this. He took another turn, taking them off the ramp and heading straight for the main Crest building. "And I really don't want to kill you either," he continued, "which is why I'm giving you this!" He dug into his pocket as he kept one hand on the wheel, skillfully turning the old pickup into the Crest parking lot. He pulled his hand out to reveal a small little device.

Nick looked at it, trying to see what it was. He gave up after a minute. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a special chip I built after the test," he said, shifting the truck into park. "I have several more here. They're little beacons set at a certain frequency. If either one of us are near each other, these things will warn us of where the other is located." He gave him one, then dug into his pocket again. "How many of those guys are your friends?"

"Just three."

Dan nodded again as he pulled out three more. "Give these to them and tell you what I said. Just have them installed in your cockpits to make sure. As long as you have them, I won't attack you by accident, or your friends for that matter." He then smiled. "Don't let crest know about them, K?" Nick nodded. "Good. Come on now, you've got to get your stuff. I've already spoken to the Crest executives earlier. They'll give you everything you need, then ensure you have a room."

He looked at his brother. "What do you mean you talked to them?"

He smirked. "I accepted a mission for them. I'm going to check out rumors of a terrorist group in sector 526. Sounds easy enough."

"Too easy," Nick said. "I don't think you even know what they're using. Just be careful. I want to get the chance to fight you in the arena when I make Raven."

"I'll be careful," Dan said. "But I'm not too sure about the arena thing. I'll just do my best."

"You'd better," Nick said at last, pulling his suitcase out of the truck. "I'll see you on the battlefield."

Dan gave him a thumb up as he drove away, leaving Nick there to face his chances as an MT pilot.

………

AD 147

March 5

1st Layer: District 2 Trene City

A young girl strapped herself into the cockpit of her AC, her fingers gripping the controls as she tried to grasp a feel for the machine. She is about 19 years old with long, blue hair and green eyes. She stands about 5'7" tall and was currently wearing a trainee's grey pilot uniform.

Her AC is the basic machine, not overly powerful, but enough for the training mission. It was an all Crest design that has been used for several years for every aspiring Raven. Its steel grey color was standard as well, since the trainees normally don't have the chance to customize the machines before they get to play with them. Its head was the CHD-01-ATE, the basic head design that had little to offer aside from the most human of AC faces. The core was the CCM-00-STO, the common core part that is widely used for its over boost function as well as average specs. The arms were the CAM-10-XB, a heavy model that is quite stable under fire. The legs were CLM-01-EDF. Its thrusters were the CBT-00-UNI, the poorest boosters one could get, as well as the poor grade generator, radiator, and FCS. Its weapons included the CWM-S40-1 small missile launcher, CWG-RF-200 combat rifle, and CLB-LS-1551 laser sword. It was further equipped with the CRU-A10 radar part, giving the otherwise useless AC some radar capabilities that put most head parts to shame.

"We're nearly there. Let's go over the mission one more time," the Examiner said from the plane. "Your objective is to destroy the targets occupying the city. You're targets are battle MTs. Eliminate them, and you'll be registered as a Raven."

The girl laughed. "Just destroy a few battle MTs? That sounds easy!"

The examiner looked at his list as he eyed the comm from unit 2. "You're Jen Kasuna," he said.

"I respectably wished to be called Tanja, sir," she replied in a mildly irritated tone.

"Say that again when you're a real raven, aspirant," the examiner snapped. He looked at the AC, remembering its curse. It's been nearly a year since that very same AC was severely damaged during a Raven combat test. Ever since then, its proven difficult to handle due to exceptional damages throughout the AC that couldn't be fully repaired without replacing the whole AC. Many pilots that came after that Yasuke boy had barely passed the exam in that AC. Its counterpart, unit 1, was actually piloted by the only Raven that had performed exceptionally well, especially with the interference that was run during the test. "The test has been interfered once before. I'll actually be impressed if you can match the one Raven that aced it even with the interference."

She looked at the screen. 'The test had been infiltrated?' she thought to herself. "That won't happen again, will it?" she asked.

"As an added security measure, an additional Raven is posted nearby to run interference if such a situation happens again. He won't interfere unless he sees that you're going to get killed by a crasher. If you're going to die, it will be by a designated target, not a test crasher," he replied, checking the list again. He smirked. "Speak of the devil," he said, looking down at the city, swearing he saw an AC standing up on the roof of one of the buildings. It's dark blue and purple coloring made it hard to see, and the pale green glow possibly could be part of the building itself. "If your unfortunate enough, the same guy will save your ass."

"Have they needed to run interference yet?" the other girl asked from inside her AC.

He mopped his head at this question. The other problem was that whenever that Raven ran interference missions, there was a good chance it would be interfered. "Only once," he replied. He changed the subject as he noticed where they are. "We are now entering the area of operations, get out there." He said.

"Rodger!" both pilots said as they leapt out of the back of their planes, landing hard on the ground. "Battle mode engaged," their computers chimed, their rifles coming online. Both ACs slipped down the main street, finding two of the targets already. Both fired their rifles, taking down the biped walkers with ease. As they started searching for their next target, a series of loud explosions were heard. Both ACs moved in time to avoid a laser cannon blast.

"What the hell!" Jen shouted, spotting the aggressor. It was a newer MT model, and a dangerous one if ignored. It is a hover class MT equipped with a plasma cannon on its right side. The MT has no close quarters weapons and poor armor, but it moves quite well for an MT.

"I warned you about that," the Examiner said. "They aren't part of the scheduled test. However, you must manage for now." Unit 1 flew further into the city for more of the battle MTs, while Jen went after her new aggressor. Jen tuned in to her Examiner's frequency as she fired at the MT, strafing right to avoid another plasma burst. She overheard a conversation on the line. "I hope you're watching this, Raven."

"I am," a relatively deep voice replied. "The Cortex did catch wind of a possible terrorist attack against the aspirants." Jen gritted her teeth as she finished the MT before moving on to catch up. "I just hope these guys are all that show, and not the other part of their threat." She continued to move when she got shot from behind. She turned sharply and spotted another assailant, but it wasn't an MT.

"They sent a chopper now?" she asked, shooting it down with two hits before it could fire again.

"Something's wrong," the other aspirant said over the comms, her voice sounding worried. "My radar's picking up a lot of enemies."

"We can't cancel the test. Just try to take care of them," the examiner replied. He then started speaking towards the mystery pilot. "Raven, what are you doing?"

A loud explosion was heard on the other side of a building, glass shattering as another plasma MT fell through burned to a crisp. "Working on it," he replied, his AC moving in the shadows just outside of Jen's sight. She started moving in the opposite direction, hoping that some battle MTs were still active over there. "Ah hell!"

"Raven," a woman's voice said over the comms. "They've sent a bomber! It'll be in range in one minute!"

Jen's eyes widened in shock at hearing that. "I know," he replied. "And it's a big one!"

"A bomber," the other aspirant said. "They can't be serious!"

"Focus on the test," the Examiner said. "Leave the bomber to the Raven." Jen gritted her teeth as she heard this. She turned her AC around and activated the over booster.

'I'm not going to take this,' she thought as her AC whined, a sign that the over booster was charging up. 'This is my exam, and I'm not going to let a bomber stop me from becoming a Raven.' Her boosters stopped charging, then a loud explosion was heard as the AC accelerated forward at full speed, Jen being slammed hard into the seat. She gritted her teeth in pain as she resisted the pressure of being pressed into the cockpit, checking her gauges. She deactivated her boosters and fired on another nearby chopper, taking it down with ease.

"The bomber will be arriving in 20 seconds, get ready," the woman said again.

"I'm ready," the voice said again. "These choppers are proving to be quite a pain, the won't stay down."

Jen then saw it on her radar, a green dot directly ahead of her. 'That must be the raven,' she though as she boosted ahead, taking out a few more choppers. She then flew towards the Raven when she saw the bomber up in the sky. It was large and black, flying through the sky at a very high altitude. She realized it was out of her range, so she jumped up in the air and started to fly her AC towards the plane, her missiles armed. She fired them, but was irritated as only one flew towards her target. It impacted underneath the plane causing it to tilt slightly. As she was arming another one, she saw a booster light up in the sky. She instantly knew what it was, it was the Raven. She fired her missile and watched the AC fly right above the plane, firing six missiles down from above. She was surprised when it did what she couldn't believe, it landed on top of the bomber. She then saw muzzle flashes as he fired his machine gun onto it, smoke starting to trail from the bomber.

That's when she saw it, another one of those plasma shooters. The pilot was having it fly further up than it was normally allowed to. 'Is it a customized MT?' she though, moving fast to take it down. She wasn't fast enough, as the MT flew up high enough and fired a plasma beam at the Raven. He reacted by boosting away from the shot, but he fell off the bomber in the process. Jen took advantage of the situation by firing on the MT's hover pad, disabling the MT, and then flew after the bomber. She got a lock on with her missiles when she heard an odd sound coming from her AC. She looked at her gauges and noticed to her horror that the power was failing. She struggled with the AC to stay in the air as she fired the missile, then fired her rifle before the power failed. The missile and round struck the engines of the bomber, sending it out of control as it veered to the side. It crashed a little ways off from where the other AC was still in the testing area.

"Mission complete," the woman said. "Good job, Raven."

"It wasn't me," the voice said.

Before the woman could respond, the Examiner got on the line. "The test is over now, but I can't find Unit 2 in my test area."

Jen struggled with her AC, the power having failed completely. Only the radio, which was running on a separate power source, was still working. "This is Jen," she said. "I kinda got a problem here…"

"Where the hell are you?" the Examiner said, clearly irritated.

"Look out!" Jen heard a loud 'shrak' sound as something was cut clean in half from behind her. She felt as her AC was moved by something from the outside. "This is Mobius, I found Unit 2. Now I see how that bomber was felled."

"What do you mean?" the Examiner said. Jen listened to the radio, unable to see what was happening outside of the AC.

"I mean that I saw a missile and bullet punch into the engines of the bomber when I fell off of it, and I didn't fire at that time. Seems this aspirant got caught up in my mission." There was a pause, then a growl. "This AC has a faulty generator… You let an aspirant fly a defective AC?"

The Examiner sighed. "Couldn't be helped. We do our best to repair them, but that one's been nothing but trouble. That's the same one that was nearly destroyed nearly a year ago." He groaned. "Thanks to Yasuke, that AC couldn't be properly repaired. You should know the details."

"Don't lecture me, and don't think blaming my brother changes the fact!" Mobius snapped. "Where's the other aspirant? I could use a hand here."

"Surely your AC is enough to move a trainer," the examiner said.

"She's not the only thing that needs to be moved," he replied. " There was a damaged plasma shooter out here, I'm assuming this one was damaged by Unit 2. The unit is scrapped, but the pilot is still alive. The Cortex will want to question the pilot as to who's responsible for this fiasco." She sighed. "Hey, what the hell's the name of this aspirant?"

"My name's Jen Kasuna," she replied, remembering how the Examiner snapped at her request.

"Your pilot name, Raven," Mobius asked. She looked up at the radio.

"Raven, she doesn't have the right to have a pilot name. She didn't pass the test!"

"I say she has the right, especially flying this trashier of a training machine, taking on enemy MTs far exceeding battle MTs, and taking down that bomber," Mobius snapped again, silencing the examiner. "Your name, Raven?"

Jen replied, "My name's Tanja, sir."

"Tanja, you should be able to open the cockpit. The main power's out, but the cockpit mechanisms and radio run on a separate power source." She nodded and flipped a switch, then gripped her seat as she felt the cockpit lurch backwards. The entire back section of her AC slid back, the top of the cockpit opening up to the dark night. She climbed up out of the cockpit, standing behind the head of Unit 2. She then turned around, barely able to see the AC standing behind hers.

It was blue upon blue in color, with the aid color being a darker shade of blue. She looked up the AC, taking in its appearance. The legs are CLM-02-SNSK model, the core is the CCM-00-STO, and the arms are the rounded and armored CAL-MARTE. The right arm is carrying the CWG-MG-500 machine gun, the left has the CLB-LS-2551, and its back sported the MWM-S42/6 missile launcher on the right backpack and the CWC-GNL-15 grenade launcher on the left backpack slots. If she looked behind it, she would've seen a pair of MBT-OX/002 boosters that moved the AC at high speeds. She didn't notice that its cockpit portion was also pushed out, but its left hand was close to her AC. She looked up at its face, seeing that it used the CHD-SKYEYE for a head, its pale green 'eye' looking down at her. Next to its head was a man, standing about 5'11" with messy brown hair. She could only see him fairly well because of the AC's green exterior lights being on, and its green 'eye' shone enough light to reveal his appearance. He was wearing a blue pilot suit with a raven embroidered over his heart, while the right side had 'MOBIUS' embroidered on it.

"I can't carry your AC with you still inside," he explained. He nodded towards the hand, and she understood. She gently moved to the extended hand and used it to climb onto his AC. He crouched down on the unit's core as he extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Raven."

…………

Here it is, the prequel to Lunar battle. Because of a case of writer's block, I won't be done writing Lunar battle for a bit. I couldn't go on with a sequel yet either, because I'd spoil the ending of lunar battle in doing so. So now, I'm just going to do this prequel of my series. Read and Review.


	2. Chapter 1:Nest

Armored Core: Controller Chronicles

Chapter 1: Nest

The return trip was relatively silent. Jen was now sitting inside the transport plane, which was now heading towards the Raven's Nest. Unit 2 was kneeling down within the transport, as was Unit 1. Regina had successfully passed her Raven's test, having taken down all but two battle MTs, which Jen had shot down, as well as five helicopters. Jen herself just sat there thinking. Mobius, the Raven that she helped, had said she had the stuff of Ravens, but she wasn't too sure. The examiner seemed irritated, primarily because she had nearly left the operation zone to engage units that weren't even targets for her operation. She had shot down two battle MTs, but then also took down four choppers, two plasma MTs, and the bomber itself.

She looked out the window as she saw the plane flying into the facility, landing down on the launch pad. Maintenance crews were already waiting for the transport plane to arrive, having equipment to move Unit 2 and a pilot to move Unit 1. Unit 2 needed equipment to move because the AC had a damaged generator, courtesy of poor repairs on the once horribly damaged machine. She watched as they moved the ACs out of the plane and started their checks on them, more of them checking Unit 2 to make sure the problem never occurs again. She just sat there as she waited to hear what to do next.

She looked up at the crews and noticed that a few were looking at her. She noticed the looks in their eyes and looked down, breaking eye contact with them. She knew what they were looking at her for; it was the same back in high school. She knew that it was because of her appearance. Even though the pilot suit was poor grade, and is mandatory for all aspirants to wear during their test, it did little to hide her bust. She always had a bit of a large bust size, but not so big that they'd get in the way or stick out a lot. If anything, her size was just larger than average, if anything. 'Always thinking with their small heads,' she thought, shaking her head in disgust.

"Jen Kasuna." She looked up, spotting the examiner. "This way please." He motioned for her to follow him as he left the transport. She got up as well and started to follow him, shooting glances at the maintenance crew when she saw them looking at her in 'that' way. She followed him through the hanger, in which she saw a huge variety of AC units parked. She recognized three of them. Those three belonged to the top rankers; Ace, BB, and Royal Mist. AC Archadia was the one belonging to Ace, and his AC is packing with several light parts mounted on middle weight legs. As she passed them, she recognized the blue on blue AC. It belonged to Mobius, the Raven that was running interference for her test. She didn't give it much thought, though, as she was lead to the examiner's office just across from the AC hanger.

The office was relatively simple. There is a desk in the middle, complete with a chair, computer, and a small stack of papers. There is also a bookshelf up in the corner, with most of the books actually being reports on some of the more aspiring Ravens that passed the test. It also has several chairs set up in front of the desk, and a display case that showed several AC models. Among them were Phoenix, the first AC hero, Nineball, and a blue AC with Zeo Matrix parts. They were all legendary ACs, but the corporations that built them were either in space or folded many years ago. She almost didn't notice that Mobius was also in the room. His blue pilot suit was a dead giveaway. He was leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed across his chest and his eyes closed, some of his hair covering one of his eyes. She looked at the examiner, who merely nodded for her to sit down. She only now took notice as to this man's appearance. He was seemingly in his late 20s to early thirties, with a tame and trim head of black hair. His steel grey eyes looked at her as if analyzing her. At least he wasn't focusing a lot on her bust. His body was relatively lean as well, and he wore a brownish black pilot suit. An emblem was embroidered on his left shoulder, which seemed to be a skull in blue flame. Silence ruled the room for nearly a minute as Jen sat in the seat, looking between the examiner and Mobius.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

He looked up at her from his desk. "I'll actually admit that I'm impressed with how you fought," the Examiner said. "Granted I didn't see exactly what you had done, but we took unit 2's black box out to see what happened." He turned his computer monitor, showing her a segment showing her attack on the bomber. "However, you disregarded my orders, which were to stay in the test area and engage all MTs that were there. You were even on the verge of leaving the battle area." He turned off the monitor, looking at the blue haired girl. "However, you did prove that you had what it takes to be a Raven. You did take out that bomber, two plasma MTs, and a series of choppers within a matter of three and a half minutes, all of which were executed with a poorly repaired and disabled AC." He sighed as he leaned back in his seat, his hands folded in front of his face in a thinking position. "The question is what to do with you? We've never had such an adequate display of combat ability combined with such disrespect for orders."

Mobius stirred, opening his brown eyes and looking at the examiner. "We let her in, of course," he replied. "I myself was let into the Raven fold even though anti AC units interfered. A bomber is much more dangerous and would've caused more damage than those MTs."

"Your situation was different," he said to Mobius. "You stayed in the battle area and destroyed all targets."

Mobius shook his head. "Ace, when the hell did you become such a hard ass," he said. "Don't tell me she's too much like how I was then."

Ace shot Mobius a look as Jen realized exactly who her examiner was. She had no idea that the A-1 ranker himself was the examiner. "If you think it's a form of spite, you're wrong," Ace said. "It is true she shows something similar to how you were nearly a year ago. I respect such people, especially those that show exceptional promise. The problem here is that she wasn't listening to orders during her test." He sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Ravens are supposed to follow their contracts to the letter, and ignoring their contracts won't do anything to help them."

Mobius nodded in understanding. "In that case, how about this proposal," he said. "Make her a Raven, and I'll watch her."

"What?" Ace said, one eye looking at Mobius. Jen looked between the two, having not been spoken to.

"Consorts can be taken on many missions," Mobius said. "I'd accompany her on those missions and make sure she follows them to the letter, then let her try some missions on her own to see how she fares."

Ace looked at him, looking Mobius in the eye as if trying to see some hidden reason for the proposal. He then looked at Jen and looked at her. Jen could only look back questionably, unsure why Mobius is going out of his way for her. After another moment of silence, Ace sighed. "Jen," he started, "do you understand the terms of his proposal?" She merely nodded in understanding, although she was still lost. Ace nodded back. "Alright," he replied. He put his papers in a pile and put then in a white binder. "As of now, you're a special case of Raven. As such, you are awarded the name 'Tanja' during battle situations." She sat confused for a moment, then smiled as she took in what he said. "I will monitor your progress from my room, which Mobius here will be responsible for sending to my computer." Mobius merely twitched. Ace smirked. "I know you hate paperwork, but how else am I supposed to see when she's ready to strike out on her own."

"Thank you, Ace sir," Jen said, getting up and ready to leave.

"Hold, Tanja," Ace said, causing the blue haired girl to stop in her tracks. "While under Mobius's watch, you listen to his orders as if they are part of the contract. If I hear that you disobeyed orders from him or the contract, you'll be piloting MTs faster than you can say Ace. Do you understand?" Jen could only nod. "Good. Here," he said, giving her a slip of paper. "This is your room number and lock combination. Now that that's settled… Mobius!" He nodded in reply. "Get her AC ready for a mission, then show her where she will sleep." Ace stood up and stretched. "You're free to go. I've got something else to deal with tomorrow." Mobius and Jen nodded in reply before Mobius himself led the new raven out of the office.

"I'm surprised," Jen murmured. "I didn't think that Ace would be the examiner."

"He has little else to do aside from handle the Arena battles," Mobius explained. "He hasn't had a halfway decent fight in the arena for nearly five months, and he never accepts missions ever since he made A-1." He continued to move, heading for a shop. "Alright then, first thing is to meet up with Greg."

"Who?" Her question was answered the instant she entered, noticing a man behind the counter. His hair was black, but graying in many spots. He was currently about 60 years old, but his brown eyes still held fire from his youth. His own face showed some wrinkles and his body is relatively lean. He gave them a smile as they entered his AC part shop.

"Welcome," he said. "How may I help ya?" he started before recognizing Mobius. "Ey, Yasuke. 'Avn't seen ya here fer six months."

Jen blinked and looked at Mobius. 'Wait a minute,' she thought. 'Ace was badmouthing about a Yasuke wrecking Unit 2 nearly a year ago. Was he…'

Mobius shook his head. "I know," he replied in an emotionless tone. He gave a brief glance to Jen. "Fresh new Raven. She needs to get an AC ready and learn about the shop." Greg blinked and looked at the blue haired girl, who blinked in surprise.

"Nother hatchlin'?" he said, looking her over. She frowned, thinking he was an old pervert. "Er hem. I swear, thay're gittn younger an younger evry year," he said, only looking at her chest for a second. He rolled his eyes. "Ditch them implants, girl. Bust like that wit such a perty face'll git ya knocked up in a week."

She turned red in the face, with a look of pure anger in her eyes. "Was that a warning or an insult?" she growled in anger. "These are real!"

He blinked, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry bout that," he said. "Seems tha younger generation 'as gotten a bit bigger as well." She gave him a royally angered look for that one. "Seriously, better watch yerself. Buncha creeps won't hesitate in defiling a perty ting like ya."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, still apparently angered by the earlier insult, or what she saw as one.

"Geeze," Greg said. "Nev'r got a hatchlin' angered at meh before…" He sighed. "Look 'ere, I wez a Raven jest like ye are now," he said. "I've seen too many young ladies like yerself git caught up with tha slime an havin ta quit the Raven work cause a tham." He sighed. "I hate hav'n to see the parts I sell gettin wasted as much as I hate ta see Ravens gettin unwanted kids or killed." Jen started to understand what he was talking about, having not considered the possibility that another Raven would try that. She paled at the thought of such a thing happening to her, especially if she got pregnant with some dickhead. He paused for a minute, then looked at Mobius again. He noticed how Mobius had actually put a hand on his face, his head shaking behind it. "What ya here fer again?"

"We're trying to get her AC ready," Mobius said from behind his hand.

Greg blinked dumbly at Mobius, and then got up. "Ah, yes. Jest go down them areas over thar. I don't 'ave many of them newer parts, but yeh sould be able ta build somtin." Greg averted his eyes from Jen as he went in back. Her eyes followed him questionably until she noticed where he was going. In the back of the shop stood an AC, one she had seen nearly fifteen years ago. She had memorized the configuration years ago in an attempt to find the pilot once more.

The AC in the back was created by Emeraude, an AC company that now only exists on Mars. At least, the majority of its parts were Emeraude. Crest currently is the part producer whose parts are anywhere near what Emeraude had. It included the EHD-NIGHTEYE head (the SKYEYE of the past), ECM-XR00 core (the STO's predecessor), EAN-1111 arms (retired in AD 136, when Crest took over as Emeraude's successor on earth), and the ELN-02A legs (Rumored to be the closest to the old Chrome legs). The boosters actually belong to Zeo Matrix, the high strength ZBT-H4/T that sparked one of Mirage's thrusters. The arms mounted BEX-BAMS-287 missile interceptors, a Balena product that never was reproduced on earth. Its weapons included EWM-S608 missiles, EWC-GN44-AC grenade launcher, ZWG-XP/400 pulse rifle, and ELS-3443 laser blade.

"Ancient…" she murmured.

"Did you say something?" Mobius asked her.

She looked up and shook her head. "Sorry…" she replied. "Got a little distracted."

He looked in back as well, looking over the AC back there for a moment before leading Jen away. "Alright then," he said. "This is the main part of the shop." She looked at the area in question. It was only a row of walls with different displays. Each display showed a corresponding part above a screen, which showed a series of parts, their approximate stats, and their cost. "We just go to each spot and check out what is and what isn't available." He looked at the display, and frowned. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" she asked, moving closer to the head screen.

"That," he said, pointing where the SKYEYE part ID was. It was highlighted in red. "When a part is highlighted in red, the part is currently unavailable." He groaned as he tried to think. "I was going to try and assemble an AC for you that uses similar parts to my own. It would be an easy design to understand and fly, but it seems we may need to try something a little different." He thought for a minute, trying to figure what parts to combine for the new girl. "This may take a while. How about you check out the weapons selection and pick out a few you like. I'll stay here and try and work out your Core's form." He looked back at her. "Any preferable AC types you'd like?"

"Something that is humanoid in appearance," Jen said as she moved over to the weapons screens, looking them over. Mobius nodded as he started to look for the parts that would help her. He eventually decided that she would definitely use the STO core and the SNSK legs he was accustomed to. He then checked the arm types, eventually finding the MAL-RE/REX arms. 'Not as defensive as the MARTE, but it does boast lighter weight and better plating.' He thought as he selected that, then started browsing the heads. He checked them all, then decided on the MHD-RE/008, a unique Mirage part with relatively good specs, nearly on par with SKYEYE. Nodding in satisfaction, he chose a pair of MBT-OX/002 boosters for her to try. He froze when he heard a squeal and turned towards Jen. "What's the matter?"

She gave a smirk. "They have a new laser rifle!" She said. He only blinked. "I like the way they work! They can be fired without worrying about buying ammo later, cause immense damage, and often are effective against many AC types because of a common place design flaw!"

He smirked. "Seems you did your homework," he said humorously. "Just remember that laser swords work the same way."

"I know that!" she retorted. "I already decided on the MLB-LS/003 laser sword, but I really want to use that MWG-XCB/75 laser rifle!"

He smirked. "Alright, alright. I did say you can pick the weapons," he said, deciding to get the CGP-ROZ generator for her AC to accommodate the energy weapon. He then picked out a RIX-CR14 radiator and VREX-ST-12 FCS. Jen finished up with the MWM-S42/6, but was stopped from picking her final weapon. Mobius chose for her final weapon to be the CWC-GNS-15, a grenade launcher of smaller size and less firepower than his larger launcher.

"Why are you having me use that?" Jen protested.

"Because I saw you eying the back mounted laser weapons," he replied. "I got you a high strength generator, but it cost some of the AC's support. Not only would your AC be overweight with the Core parts I selected and your weapon preferences, it would be straining with the large amount of energy you'd be consuming. Burn it too much, and the generator won't be as effective." Jen was successfully confused. She had heard that ACs don't perform well when one of their parts puts its limits over the edge. She only knew not to overweigh the whole AC, otherwise it won't be as mobile as normal. "Besides, even if you didn't pick a large energy cannon, the smaller ones consume far more energy than the cannons."

"Fine," she said, selecting the launcher specified, then turning away from the display. She then noticed that Mobius wasn't ready to leave yet. He was at the final display, something she had overlooked. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He nodded and started selecting parts. "These are option parts," he explained. "They won't drastically change your AC's stats, but they'll help. Here." He showed her the selections. "Your AC will be quite stable as it is, but I'm worried about the energy weapons you want to use. To compensate, I'm getting parts to enhance your rifle." He started pointing at the parts. "This one reduced how much energy to spend with each shot. That will help when you're firing your rifle while skirting around with the boosters. This one increases the firing rate, allowing you to fire faster. This final one will slightly increase the attack power of the rifle. I also picked out a condenser part to enhance your generator's energy supply." He sighed. "Seriously, though, I dislike using energy weapons aside from the sword," he said before moving towards the sales desk.

"Why is that?" she asked, following him over to the desk as well.

"'Cause that dam fool burned ta generator." Greg appeared at the desk, looking at Mobius. Jen's attention turned to Greg. "'E was in da middle of a mission wen he went and fired his gat too much. "'Is systems didn't respond tat well cause a tat."

He groaned. "Basically, I pushed the generator beyond its limits by firing my laser rifle while overboosting too much," he said. "The generator couldn't keep up and failed on me, leaving me to fight with by grenade launcher for nearly a minute."

"Dem parts ya used din't help much ither," Greg said. "Yer AC's parts took too much energy from da generator, causing it ta recharge much longer tan needed."

"I know, I know," Mobius replied, clearly not liking the way the discussion was going. "I fixed that problem with solid shells and lower energy using parts." He groaned as he tapped a few keys on the desk's screen. A list of the selected parts appeared on it. "These are the parts that she will use for her AC."

Greg looked at the screen, not really caring that it was upside down to him. He nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad," he replied. "I'll ave her ready by tamorro." He then looked at Jen. "She wan it painted and named?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Here is how I would like it to look." She tapped a few keys on the screen, changing it into a blue and white design, with red detailing lights. "I'd like to call it Hunter III."

Greg paused a moment. "Alright," he said. He nodded to the two. "As I said, she'll be ready by tamorro." He paused and looked down at the counter. "Hunter…" he murmured. "Why's tat sound so familr?"

She looked at him, barely catching that last part. "You say something?" she asked questionably.

"Nuthin," he replied, turning towards the back room. He stopped and looked at her again. "By ta way, never did git yer name. Min telling me, or do ya prefer hatchlin?"

"Name's Tanja," she replied.

"Yer real name, pleeze."

"Jen Kasuna," she replied. He nodded and started leaving to the back. "Later, Twilight."

He froze in place and turned around. "Wat ya say?"

"Nothing," she replied, leaving the shop without another word. Mobius merely blinked, then left as well. Greg just looked at the door they just left through, his eyes frowning. He looked at the door for another minute, then shook his head as he turned to the assembly room,

…………..

"Anyways, rely on Greg to get anything you need for your AC," Mobius said, leading the way again. "I would prefer if you stuck with Hunter's current configuration for a few missions before you try modifying it." He smirked as he saw how she was looking at all the ACs they were passing by. "I see you're easily getting acquainted with the garage, but we'll leave that for tomorrow." She looked at him with a pout. "Don't give me that, it's a lot easier to understand how the garage works when your AC is ready for action, but it won't be ready until morning." He then checked his watch. "Speaking of which, it's getting late. Greg's going to be pulling an all nighter tonight. No point staying up longer than we should. Come, I'll show you to your room."

Jen merely nodded and dug into her pocket, pulling out a paper. It was the paper Ace had given her. "It says room S44-5."

Mobius slammed a wall. "That sonofabitch," he said in one word. "I should've known Ace would pull this."

She looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"That's my room," Mobius replied after a minute.

……….

That's the first chapter. Next time, Tanja is introduced to more of the Nest and her first mission. Although the mission is easy enough, Mobius proves to be a problem. See you in Controller Chronicles, chapter 2: Mission.


	3. Chapter 2: Misson

Armored Core: Controller Chronicles

Chapter 2: Mission

As the artificial sun of Layered glowed through the sky, some of its rays shone through the window of the room. Jen stirred as it shone in her face, slowly starting to wake up. It took her only a minute before she was fully awake, and she instinctively checked her surroundings. She looked around the room, noticing how simply it was set up. It left little room for privacy, minus the bathroom at the far end of the room. It was primarily a single room with a bed, small sofa, TV, refrigerator, stove, cupboards, table chairs, desk, and computer system all crammed into it. The bed was meant for a single person and was closest to the bathroom. The table, chairs, fridge, stove, and cupboards were all crammed into the opposite corner of the room, making it a designated kitchen. The TV was placed in the opposite corner, with the sofa facing towards it. The sofa itself wasn't exactly new, but it hadn't been sat on for months. The computer equipment took up the last corner of the room. The room itself was large enough to fit a few more beds in it, but it would require the computer desk to be wedged between the sofa and the nearest kitchen chair.

Jen bolted up in the bed, unfamiliar with her surroundings. She was still wearing the grey pilot suit from last night, having not taken them off due to how tired she was then. She looked around for a moment before spotting a blue pilot's suit thrown over one of the chairs. She sighed after seeing it, recollecting everything from last night. "I forgot," she said to herself. "This is Mobius's room." She stretched herself out as she got out of the bed, making her way towards the bathroom for a shower.

As she shut the door and started to undress, Mobius himself was waking up from the sofa. His pilot suit was currently on the chair, but he was wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt since he went to sleep. He sat up with eyes half open, then started stretching out as he gave a yawn. 'Damn sofa,' he thought, rubbing his head as he made his way to the bathroom. 'Haven't needed to sleep on it since I got it, and I rarely ever sat on it either.' He gave another yawn. 'Damn thing is stiff as a board.' He started stretching himself out a bit more as he got to the bathroom door. He didn't even hear the humming from inside as he opened the door. He barely even noticed the scream that emanated from inside the room, but it was enough to have him look up for a moment.

Jen was humming a tune inside the bathroom as she got undressed, but froze when she heard the bathroom door open. She looked at the door, wearing only her pair of panties. She saw Mobius enter, and she turned red in the face with rage. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU PERVERT!" she yelled angrily, grabbing the nearest thing and throwing it towards him. He looked up in time to get hit in the face by a metal bucket, which he normally used to splash himself with cold water in the mornings before taking his shower. Since he always woke up kind of groggily, he uses it for a quick wake up call.

"YEOW!" he yelled as the bucket flattened his nose before both he and it fell onto the floor. He quickly got back up in a sitting position, his hands over his nose. Blood was starting to trickle from underneath his hands as he looked up at his attacker. "WHAT THE HE…" He stopped when he saw Jen standing there, getting a good view of her bust. However, he was more worried about her hand grabbing the shampoo than her lack of clothing. He immediately got to his feet, turned around, and got his ass out of the bathroom as she threw the shampoo, soap, and a razor blade at the Raven. The shampoo missed, hitting the side of the door as the soap bounced off the back of his head. As he turned to shut the door, the razor caught his hand with its blades just a second before the door closed. He swore loudly from being cut, blood pouring out of his hand from the trio of cuts on the back of it. He gripped his wrist as he moved to the kitchen sink, turning the water on to wash the cuts. He gritted his teeth in pain as the water washed into the wound. "Holy… she freaking cut me!" he growled. "And the damn med kit's in the freaking bathroom!"

Jen heard him swear loudly as the door closed, breathing deeply from being startled and seen as she was. It took her nearly a minute to realize what had happened, her instincts having taken over when she saw him just barge into the bathroom like that. After she had recovered from the shock, she started to realize what she had done, especially since she threw a razor he had left lying around on the sink at him. "Damn," she murmured, getting her clothes back on as she moved towards the door. She slipped into her grey pilot suit again, keeping it unzipped in her haste before she opened the door. She saw the trail of blood lead away from the door, with the bloodied razor still next to it, which led to where Mobius was now. She heard him grumbling in anger, and knew why he would be angry. "Mobius?" she started, unsure what to do at the moment.

He shot her a look as he pulled out some paper towels, wrapping his hand as tightly as he could to slow the bleeding. It was already starting to seep through. "Get the med kit," he said quickly. "Bottom cabinet!" She nodded and returned into the bathroom, crouching down to open the cabinet under the sink. It wasn't too hard to find it, since it had a large red plus sign on a blue cover. She pulled it out and left the bathroom quickly, nearly stepping on the razor as she left. She moved over to Mobius and placed the med kit on the counter, opening it and looking at what he would need. "Hydrogen peroxide," he said. She looked at him questionably. "Do you know how to treat wounds?" he asked, gripping his hand tightly.

"Only mid scrapes," she admitted, picking up the hydrogen peroxide. She was about to open it when she noticed how bad the wound was. Mobius had started to unwrap it, showing three slashes that poured blood out at a rather steady rate. "Holy.."

"Welcome to wound treatment 101," he said jokingly, flinching from the cut. He moved over to his pilot suit and wrapped the sleeve around his wrist. He then started to twist the end of the suit with the base of the sleeve, causing it to tighten around his wrist. "Tourniquet," he stated. "With it bleeding like this, or worse, it is best to slow the blood flow. Not too sure I'm doing that right." He then nodded towards her, his teeth gritted together. "Uncap the peroxide, then place a cotton ball on top of the opening. Turn the bottle over for a moment, then turn it right side up." She nodded in understanding, doing what he said while accidentally spilling a little peroxide. She then pulled off the cotton ball, now soaked with the peroxide, put the bottle down, and recapped it. She then held the cotton ball. "Gently, and I mean gently, apply that to the cut." She nodded and placed it gently on his hand, only to flinch when she saw him shut his eyes tight and grit his teeth even harder, noticing that it must've hurt him more.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't," he said. "It's my fault, and that was only the peroxide doing its work. Keep applying it, ignore me." She shakily continued, noticing how he still flinched in pain for at least another minute after it was applied. The flow of blood had slowed down, making it easier to clean the wound. She knew the next part of it. While Mobius kept his tourniquet on his wrist, she placed a square of cotton over his hand. He stopped her from placing the gauze on his hand. "Not yet," he replied. "Press the cotton onto the cuts, so that they can heal up for a minute. Besides, this square of cotton could become soaked in blood within three minutes." She nodded as she followed his instructions. "You're doing better than you let on," he said.

"Sorry about the cut," she said, changing the subject.

He looked at her somewhat sadly, then shook his head. "No, that was my fault," he said. "I should've warned you about my morning habits. I was half asleep when I entered the bathroom." He lifted an eyebrow at her. "I will say the bucket was still used for its original purpose."

"You mean you slam your head with it?"

"Not a chance," he said, having completely forgotten about the bloody nose. Only now did he taste the blood on his tongue, and he disliked the taste. "I use it to wake myself up, but I use cold water, not cold steel." He lifted his head back to stop the blood from running out his nose, only to feel it drip down through the back of his nose into his throat. "Just forget about it right now," he said. "As soon as I'm all bandaged and cleaned up, you take your shower. Then we'll visit the garage and get Hunter III, but that'll be after I check for any new missions we can take." She nodded as she noticed his hand starting to turn blue. "Damn, gotta loosen this up, or else I'll risk killing my left hand…"

………

A young man yawned as he got out of bed. He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, and got dressed in a pilot suit. The youth is about 19 years old with short brown hair and deep brown eyes. He stands nearly 5'9" tall and appears mildly muscular. The suit was all black, a skull with scythe emblem embroidered on it. 'Can't waste much time,' he thought as he checked himself out, then left his quarters. 'The operation should be starting soon. I've got a team to lead.' He then ran down the halls, remembering exactly where to go in the Crest facility to get to the MT hanger bay.

"Hey, Nick," another man said. He was roughly the same age and height as Nick, but had black hair. He was also a lot leaner and wore a red pilot suit, his with the wings of a dove embroidered. "You're running late."

"I know, Joe, I know," Nick replied, giving Joe a high five as he entered the hanger. "Are Chris and Eddy here yet?"

"They're already at their MTs," Joe replied, tilting his head to the side. Nick looked, and saw what he meant. Another boy was near one of the new plasma MTs, similar to the ones that were sent to Trene City just last night. He stood about 5'7" tall with black hair and golden brown eyes. He was relatively lean as well. Eddy was only 18 years old, but he was quite good with the cycle MTs, so he believes he could handle the new plasma MT. His pilot suit was brown, but he didn't have an emblem on it yet. Neither did Chris, who was near his own MT. His machine was an Anti AC model, similar to the ones that humiliated Nick during his Raven test a year ago. This boy is about 17 years old, stood about 5'6" tall with an average body appearance. His hair was a dirty blonde with a set of brown eyes. His pilot suit was grey, an emblem of a numbered rocket surrounded by flames embroidered on it.

Nick then noticed a stall empty, and he frowned because of it. "Wait a minute," he said, recognizing the stall. "Where's Linda?"

Joe rubbed the back of his head, averting his gaze towards the ground. "She…she went to Trene City…" He looked away. "I'm sorry."

Nick groaned. She was supposed to be transferring to his team for the operation, and would stay among them as part of the team. "What happened?"

"They went with a group that asked Crest for assistance. They refused to tell us what their objective was, but Crest sent her with the others." He shook his head. "The survivors claim that a blue AC was in the operation area, and it wasted little time taking on anything in the way, including the bomber that the group was using. More survivors claimed that a trainer AC attacked a few other MTs and choppers. The last retreating survivor said that she went and attacked the blue AC before being hit by the trainer. They don't know if she's dead or captured."

"Wait, a trainer AC?" Nick asked, suddenly angry. "A trainer AC is only in Trene City for the Raven's test."

"We can't worry about it now," Joe said. "We're to get ready for the attack against one of Mirage's Gran Mining Facility." He turned towards his own MT, a red machine that was just as new as the plasma MT. It was a special transformable MT, capable of firing pulse rifle rounds while flying and a machine gun or plasma cannon while landed.

Nick sighed. "Right," he said, looking at his own MT. Like Joe and Ed, he also got a brand new model MT, namely a prototype for one they plan on having out by next year at the latest. It was loosely based on the common combat MT used on both sides, but its shotgun was replaced with a laser rifle, its core appears to be a cruder STO, and it has a laser blade. It is further equipped with a missile system on its right shoulder and a reinforced armor plate on the left shoulder. He had it painted black and white, suiting him just fine. "Let's do this then," he said as he entered the MT. All four of them mounted up on a pair of transport choppers. They were lifted up into the air along with a series of additional choppers. One of them was also carrying an AC. The AC, known as Doom, is a mixture of dark green and black colors, and is a machine to not mess with. Its appearance included the STO and SKYEYE parts, along with the CAL-44-EAS arms and MLH-MX/VOLAR heavyweight legs. It utilizes the CBT-FLEET boosters for high speed, VREX-ST-12 FCS, CGP-ROZ generator, and RIX-CR14 radiator. Its weapons were to be feared, for it uses a CWM-M36-4 missile launcher augmented with MWEM-R/24 missile interlock system, CWC-GNS-15 grenade launcher, MLB-MOONLIGHT laser sword, and the devastating power of the MWG-KARASAWA laser rifle.

………

Jen sat within her new AC, not overly surprised that the layout is identical to the trainer she flew last night. It was exactly as she had seen on the screen just the night before. She looked over at AC Mobius, which was crouched down inside the transport plane. She looked left and right, hearing the whirr sound as the RE/008 followed. She smiled as she removed the battle helmet. She was still wearing the pilot suit from last night, but she was told by Mobius that they'd go and get her a new suit and some new clothes after their new mission. As she took the helmet off, she saw Mobius motioning for her to get out of her AC. She was out of it within a matter of one minute, hopping from the core to the hand, then down onto the ground. "What's up?"

"Just want to make sure you know the mission," Mobius replied. He was wearing his blue pilot suit again, but his right hand had gauze on it from that morning's escapade.

She paused and thought a moment. "We were employed by the corporation Mirage," she replied. "They had received word that Crest was planning an attack the Gran Mining Facility in the industrial research area, Layer 3. It is believed that the enemy will be in range to attack at 1300 hours today. Our objective is to neutralize the enemy forces and defend the facility."

"Good," he replied, nodding in satisfaction. "Remember that, since that is part of your contract. Also remember that the situation may change, and I'll be the judge of the situation."

"Just don't hog all the action," Jen said.

"I was planning on just watching this time. They did say it was a good mission for a class D raven such as yourself. If there's a problem, I'll intervene."

She nodded as she sat down on a bench in the plane. "By the way," she started. "I remember hearing about a Yasuke being responsible for damaging unit 2 nearly a year ago. Is that true?" Mobius looked at her oddly, then gave a small nod. "Did you wreck it?"

"No I didn't," Mobius replied. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, I recall Greg calling you Yasuke," she replied. "I thought that, since it was a Yasuke that wrecked it, I thought you were the pilot a year ago."

"Well, I didn't," he replied. "I was in unit 1 when it happened."

"What happened?"

"You do realize you're being nosy, right?" he asked. She nodded.

"I just want to know, since unit 2 crapped out on me while I was flying it."

He sighed. "Alright. It will help, then, if you know who I am." He took a breath. "My name's Dan Yasuke, raven pilot for nearly a year. The one that had unit 2 wrecked was my younger brother, Nick." He looked at her. "Now that I think about it, he should be about as old as you are about now."

She looked at the deck plate of the plane. "I'm sorry," she said.

He looked at her. "Sorry for what?"

"I opened an old wound. I'm sorry for your loss." He blinked in confusion, then started laughing. Jen blinked in confusion in return. "What's so funny?"

"I never said he was killed," Mobius replied. "He survived, but his results were very poor. He didn't have what it takes to fly an AC yet, so he's doing what he can to prepare for next time." A beep was heard, notifying the pair that they were now approaching the combat area. "We'll, enough of that. We've got a mission to accomplish." He stood up and moved towards AC Mobius, while Jen ran back to Hunter III. Their ACs were powering up when the announcement was made.

"Now entering the combat area. Deploying ACs," the pilot said over the comms, opening the rear hatch for the two ACs. "Happy hunting." Both machines stood up on their feet as the door opened completely, then both jumped out of it.

"System engaged," their computers droned as they landed, the unit's bending their knees to minimize the damage stress on their legs. Their radars then came alive as the transport choppers arrived, dropping their MTs.

"Watch it," Mobius said, the SKYEYE head watching the units drop. "It looks like a combination of AC busters and plasma MT units with combat chopper support."

"This'll be too easy," Jen said as she boosted ahead, arming her laser rifle. She saw the Anti AC model glare at her with its box like lens, then lift its bazooka at her AC. She dodged to the side as a round flew past her, and she retaliated with a few well placed laser rounds. The MT collapsed in a heap, then exploded as her last laser round detonated the generator. She quickly started to move again as a chopper moved at her, firing its guns and rockets. A bullet hit the shoulder plating, but she evaded the rest of the fire and shot it down with one beam.

Mobius stood to the side, watching as she shot her way through the forces. 'Not bad,' he thought, watching as she dodged a plasma MT, causing the shot to hit and destroy one of the other larger MTs. She then got close and sliced the plasma MT clean in half. 'Seems that a rank D mission may just be too easy for her after all.' He saw as she pointed her rifle down and her missile launcher open up. Missiles fired from it, striking down a few more choppers. He couldn't help but smirk as he saw that she had already taken down roughly half the present forces. He was about to say something when a circuit started to beep in warning. He looked down at his console, seeing the chip he installed glowing purple. "Oh no," he said, looking at his radar system. He saw four purple dots further away from the red markers, which were disappearing as Tanja took them down. "Tanja, slow down a moment."

She shot down another MT, then looked at Mobius. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He looked at his radar, noticing that one was approaching them. "We've got something else here…"

"Not now, Mobius," Tanja replied, boosting to her side. The laser beam passed by her AC by an inch, leaving a small burn mark on the armor. "Another MT. Looks like a new model!" The MT was completely black with white armored segments, and was sporting a laser rifle, armored plate, and missile launcher system. She lifted her own laser rifle and opened fire at the MT, but was surprised as to how it evaded the attack with ease.

Mobius swore, noticing the other three readings approaching Tanja's position. "This isn't good," he mumbled, moving towards the two battling machines. He saw as their shots were getting closer to hitting their marks. "The system I installed is supposed to react when Nick's nearby. One of them has to be him." He saw as the two prepared to fire again, and realized that Tanja was aiming for the core of the MT. He moved his AC right between the two just as they fired. Tanja gasped when she saw her shot slam into the back of AC Mobius as the MT's shot hit the front of the core. Scorch marks now were visible on the AC from the shots. He then retaliated by firing a spray of bullets from his machine gun at the MT's legs, managing to hit one of the ankles. The MT fell to a knee, but it pointed its rifle back at Mobius, its armored head staring at the red 'eye' of SKYEYE.

"Mobius! What the hell are you doing?" Tanja shouted. "Move before he shoots you!"

"He won't fire," he replied, switching his radio transmission just before he said that. "Isn't that right, brother?"

"Dan?" a voice said on the radio before a vid image popped up in Mobius's cockpit. Tanja heard it from her connection with Mobius. "I thought that was you," Nick replied, grinning on the screen. The MT dropped its rifle down. "Should've realized, considering that is the same stunt you pulled in the Raven test."

Mobius frowned. "Seems that gadget worked."

Tanja chose to but in, matching the frequency perfectly. "What the hell is going on here?" she asked angrily. Nick's eyes widened in surprise as his own screen showed the blue haired girl.

"Picked up a girl already?" he asked, giving a cocky grin. Mobius simply frowned at him.

"You realize the situation we're in right now," he said, completely ignoring the question. "I did warn you a year ago this might happen."

"Nick," another voice said as a flying MT arrived in the area.

"Hold your fire, Joe," Nick said sharply. "This mission is over. These ACs destroyed the rest of our forces. Even if we defeat them here, we won't stand a chance inside the facility."

"That means you forgot something," a deeper voice interrupted. Mobius growled.

"Tanja! Move it!" he said. She responded as he told her to, but her AC took a hit from a laser shot. The shot burst into a ball of blue energy as a boom sound was heard. Both ACs looked into the direction of the source, locating a darkly colored AC.

"Doom!" Mobius seethed through his teeth, recognizing his rival. "Crest sent you, didn't they?"

"Indeed they did, Mobius," he said in a rather calm voice. "I would say this mission is beneath you, but I see your accomplice is someone new." He grinned to himself. "I would just let you go, but I know you never abandon a mission. Prepare to be scrapped!" He charged in at high speed, firing his Karasawa at Hunter III.


End file.
